Course Catalog

Business Administration

BU 110 Personal Financial Planning - Professor Tom VanDzura
For most students, the start of their collegiate career also signifies the beginning of their financial independence. This transition can certainly be a time of excitement, intense questioning, and often worry. Students may wonder, for instance, what are my career or employment aspirations? How do I build a budget? When is it time to start saving for the future? How do I save? Should I rent or own my first home upon graduation? What kind of car can I afford? What is retirement planning and should I start it now? What insurance coverages and plans are essential and how to I acquire them? Affirming this universal life-stage contemplation, a national survey and research conducted by Ohio State University in 2015 found that 70% of college students were concerned about their personal finances.

Set in an online classroom environment that promotes regular engagement, personal connections, and a strong sense of Saint Michael’s College community between students (and instructor), this course serves to help students engage, comprehend, and successfully address the key questions noted above. This course covers key principles, processes, and techniques related to managing one’s own personal finances. The goal is for students to make more informed personal finance decisions and be wiser money managers, and consumers of financial services and products. Specific topics include personal financial statements and budgets, basics of federal income taxes, time value of money, financial institutions and services, consumer credit, purchasing strategies, selecting housing (rent vs buy), insurance (renters, automobile, health, disability), and fundamentals of retirement planning.

Economics

EC 103 Principles of Microeconomics - Professor Tara Natarajan
Introduction to how economists interpret the everyday decisions of consumers, firms, and workers. Develops concepts and models that explain economic incentives, individual behavior and decision making, what is produced, how it is produced, and how output is distributed. Applies the insights of economic analysis to real-world questions such as minimum wage, firm profits, costs, taxes, outsourcing, social programs, and environmental policies.

For Saint Michael's College students, this course satisfies the Social and Institutional requirement and is one of the required courses for the minor and major in economics. It also serves as a requirement and/ or elective for other programs at the college (Eg: Accounting and Business)

For Saint Michael's College students, this course satisfies the Quantitative Reasoningrequirement.

Political Science

PO 245 International Relations - Professor Jeffrey AyresThis course introduces students to the study of international relations, focusing especially on the interactions between states and non-state actors in the international environment. Emphasis is placed on understanding the major theoretical approaches to international relations, and applying them to consider enduring and contemporary issues and problems in international affairs.

For Saint Michael's College students, this course satisfies the Global Issuesrequirement.

Psychology

PS 110 Lifespan Development - Professor Melissa Vanderkaay Tomasulo
Students will gain understanding of the development of human individuals through physical, cognitive, and socioemotional components from conception to death. Theoretical and experimental approaches will be examined, and emphasis will be placed on applying these principles to relationships and situations across one’s lifespan. The nature-nature debate will also be addressed.

PS 101 General Psychology - Professor David Boynton
An introduction to the field of psychology, its methods, major perspectives, theories, and area specialties, with emphasis on the normal adult human being. The course explores basic psychological areas such as biopsychology, perception, learning, motivation, developmental, personality, social, abnormal, and therapies.

For Saint Michael's College students, this course satisfies the Social and Institutionalrequirement.